Double-ended friction-gear.



J. F. OCONNOR. DDUDL'E ENDED FnlcloN Gua,

AppUcATloN HL'ED APR. 5. |915 Patented June 26, 1917l 3 SHEES-SHET l.

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DOUBLE ENDED FRIGTION GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5. 1915.

Patented June 26, 19W,

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' W1 TNESSES l. F. QCONNOR." DOUBLEENDED FVRICTION4 GEAR.

APPucATloN FILED APR. s. |915. 4 y Patented J 116 26,'19l7.

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.ToHNrx ocoNNoR, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoE To WILLIAM H. Mumia, or cIIAzY, NEW YORK'.y

specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 26", 191 7."

Application iled-April 5, 1915.` Serial No.19,187.`

ings, forming a part ofy this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in double ended friction gears.

An object of the invention is to provide `a double ended friction gear having means-in'-y suring the uniform actuation -of the friction elements at each end of the'gear whenever the gear is operated.-

The invention kvfurthermore, consists in the improvements of the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts `and devices, as herein shown, described or claimed.

In the drawing forming a Apart `of 'this specification, Figure l is a vertical sectional view of a. draft rigging showing .myv improvements in connection therewith, the.

draw-bar, yoke and yfollowers being shown in side elevation. Fig..2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the .line 2 2 of Fig. 1, the followers and portionof the draw-bar and yoke being shown in top alan. ifiews taken on the lines 3-3 and 4 4 respectively of F 1 and Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of one of the screws employed in my arrangement; Fig. 6 is ahorizontal sectional View of another embodiment of my invention showing'the 'same as adapted to a railway car buffer. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 6 and taken on the line 7-7 thereof.v

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 isa transversesectional view Vtaken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 10 is a detail View of one of the combined follower and lever elements employed in this construction.

In said drawing, and referring to the constructionV shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, 10-*10 denotethe center sills, to the inner sides of which are secured rear stops 11-11 and front stops 12-12, each of said stopsl being provided with additional limiting stops 13-13 Secured to the draw-bar 14 is aryoke 15 of usual construction and having Figs.` 3 rand 4 are vertical sectionalv lower horizontal walls 19-19 provided withv suitable strengthening ribs and so arranged that the casting A is open at the sides to permit the insertion of the spring and associated elements, aboutl to be described. Mounted in each of the friction cylinders 18 is a friction mechanism consisting of a plurality of friction shoes 20, wedge or spreader 21 and anti-friction rollers 22. Mounted within the central portion of the casting, and inserted from the sides thereof, are a pair of combined spring followers and double nuts 23-23. Each of these members 23 is providedwith an inwardly extended sleeve 24 having threads 25 of a steep pitch on its interior, the sleeves 24--24 being arranged in twin andfoniopposite sides of the center line of the gear. Threaded within the. sleeves 24-24 are a pair of right and left screws 26 having threads 27v of a pitch corresponding with the pitch of the threads 25. Surrounding each pair of alined sleeves 24 is a main spring 28, said springs-28 bearing at their `outer ends against the follower members 23. On the outer side of each member 23 and within the friction cylinders 18 is a spring follower 29 between which and inwardly extended shoulders 30 on the friction shoes, are interposed nested preliminary compression springs 31.- A through tension bolt 32 is passed Vthrough the friction elements and through suitable perforations in the followers 29 Aand 23 and in order to obtain additional capacity, a spring 33 is mounted on said rod between the followers 23. As will be noted, the length of the screw members 26 is such that they bear at their ends against the shoulders formed by the transverse walls34 of the casting A and the function of this will appear hereinafter.

The parts are assembled by first placing the springs 28 over the sleeves 24 and with the screws 26 threaded into said sleeves. The innermost spring 33 is yalso positioned between the plates 23. The screws 26 are properly adjusted so that each end thereof isthreaded a likel amount yinto its corresponding sleeve or nut 24. These members,

that is, the followers 23, screws 26 and springs 28 and 33 are inserted within the casting A laterally of the latter until they assume the position shown most clearly in Fig. 2. Thereupon, the followers 29 are inserted through the ends of the friction cylinders 18 and thereafter the auxiliary springs 31, friction shoes and wedges. Finally the tension bolt 32 is applied to hold all the members in assembled relation.

The operationis as followsz-Upon buff, pressure will be applied from the front follower 16 to the friction mechanism at the front end of the gear and the preliminary movement will be taken up at each end of the gear by the auxiliary springs 31. Upon continued application of the pressure, the front follower member 23 will be forced inwardly and consequently the nuts 24 thereon will rotate the screws 26, and the latter, being prevented from longitudinal movement, will cause the threaded sleeves or nuts 24 on the rear follower 23 to advance on the screws the same amount that the front follower 23 is fed on the screws. In other words, the followers 23-23 must move toward each other at a uniform rate in the event that either is moved and consequently the main springs will be equally operated from each end of the gear. The result is, that in the event either friction mechanism tends to offer a temporary greater resistance than the other, and therefore might have a Y tendency to stick while one friction mechanism is doing all the work such action cannot occur. Stated in another manner, should the rear friction mechanisbm tend to stick upon a bufling action and the front friction mechanism start to absorb the entire shock, the inward movement of the front friction mechanism would move not only the front follower 23 but the rear follower 23 thus relieving the resistance to the friction elements of the rear friction mechanism so that the latter would necessarily have to come into play and this operation would continue until thev full compression position of the parts is obtained. The limiting stops and the distance between the 0pposed inner ends of the interior-ly threaded sleeves 24 is so arranged that the latter will come together when the moving follower engages its corresponding limiting stops and the shoulders of the casting A engage the other set of limiting stops. In release, the expandingaction of the springs 28 and 33 will force the followers 23 apart and at a uniform rate, thus releasing the friction mechanism in the usual manner.

It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art'that I obtain additional friction'al resistance, due to the action of the screws and nuts coperable therewith in addition to the uniform action at each end of the gear obtained by the use of said screws.

Referring now to the construction shown in Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive, A denotes the casting which is formed substantially similar to the casting A previously described and has integral end friction shells 118-118, upper and lower horizontally extending walls 119-119 forming an intermediate spring chamber open at the sides. Mounted within each friction shell Vis the friction mechanism comprising friction shoes 120, wedge 121, anti-friction rollers 122. Inwardly slidably mounted in each friction shell 118, near the inner end thereof, is a follower 129 between which and shoulders 130 formed on the friction shoes is located a` preliminary or auxiliary spring 131. Short tension bolts 132 are employed to hold the friction mechanism assembled, which bolts extend between the followers 129 and corresponding wedge 121.

Mounted within the spring chamber are parallelly arranged sets of main springs 128-128 each of which, as shown, comprises an outer and an inner nested coil. At the ends of these springs are placed the main spring followers 12B-123, there being four of these in the construction illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10. Each diagonally opposite pair of followers 123-123 is connected by a lever 126, said levers crossing each other at the center of the spring chamber and each provided with a perforated hub 40 and 41, the latter being smaller than the former and adapted to be seated therewithin, both of said hubs being seated within a suitable bearing 42 formed in the lower wall of the casting. To hold the levers in operative position and to permit the same to oscillate I employ a pivot pin 43 whichis seated within the perforation of the inner hub 41 at one of its ends and in a suitable vrecess formed in the upper wall 11,9, said pin being held in place as by means of a cotter 44.4 In order to provide suiiicient clearance for the main springs, the pin 43 is cut away near its center,` as indicatedV at 45. As clearly indicated in Figs. 6 and 10, the followers 123-123 are oppositely beveled as indicated at 46 and 47, the beveled faces 4G on the outer sides of the followers being located near the center line of the gear and the beveled faces 47 on the inner sides of the followers being located near their outer edges.

rl'he action of the structure above described is substantially the same as that for the structure shown in Figs. l to 5 inclusive. Upon inward movement of the buffer stem 114 and the follower 116, the front set of friction devices moves inwardly and after j; r

the compression of the auxiliaryv spring, the front set of main followers 123-123 will be forced inwardly and due to the fact that they are mounted on levers, will spread apart in the same manner as whena pair of 1 scissors is opened. As the front set of followers 123-123 spread apart and move inwardly toward the pivot pin 43, the rear set of followers 1123-123 will also be moved inwardly and outwardly simultaneously therewith and at the same rate, thereby insuring the equal and simultaneous actuation of the friction mechanisms at each end of the shock absorber, it being understood that the rear friction mechanism is in contact with a stationary part 117 of the car underframe and which corresponds to the rear follower 17 of the draft rigging shown `in the rst five figures hereof. Due to the spreading action of the followers 123, their faces will, of course, tilt slightly relatively to a plane at right angles to the center line of the friction mechanisms and on account of this fact, the beveled faces 46 and 47 are provided to insure an even bearing thereon during the operation of the gear. The foregoing description of the operation taken in connection with the more detailed description of the operation of the structure shown in the first five figures of the drawing, is believed to be sufficient for al clear understanding thereof.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my improvement, yet I am aware that changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts, without departing from the spirit of the invention land all such changes and modifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim 1. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a casing having a friction shell at each end thereof, of a friction mechanism located in each of said shells, spring means interposed between said friction mechanisms and coperablel with both, .and devices for positively compressing said spring means uniformly and simultaneously from each end and insuring simultaneous and equal actuation of said friction mechanisms.

2. In a shock absorbing device of the character described, the combination with a casing having a central spring chamber and a friction shell at each end thereof, of a friction mechanism mounted in each of said shells, spring means in said spring chamber, followers at the ends of said spring means and located within said spring chamber, and means extending between and connected with said followers insuring simultaneous and equal movement thereof toward and from each other.

3. In a shock absorbing` device ofthe character described, the combination with a casting having integral friction shells at the ends thereof and an intermediate spring` chamber open .at the sides, of friction mechanisms mounted in said friction shells, springs in said spring chamber arranged parallelly to the axis of said friction shells, followers at the ends of said springs and intermediate therebetweenand the adjacent friction mechanism, and elements extending between and connected with said followers adapted, when one follower is actuated` to move the opposite follower in the opposite direction a like amount.

4. In a shock absorbing device of the character described, the combination with a casing having' a friction shell at each end thereof, of friction shoes and a coperable wedge mounted in each of said shells, a follower slidable within each of said shells near its inner end, a preliminary spring interposed between each of said followers and the adj acent friction shoes, main followers on the inner sides of said first named followers, main springs interposed between said, main followers, and means extending between and connected with said main followers for moving the same toward and from each other simultaneously and equal amounts.

5. In a shock absorbing device of the character described, the combination with a bodily longitudinally movable casting having integral friction shells at each end thereof and an intermediate spring chamber open at its sides, of friction mechanisms, one in each of said friction shells, followers mounted in said spring chamber at the ends thereof, springs interposed between said followers, and a pair of elements extending between and connected with said followers adapted, when one follower is actuated, to move the opposite follower in the reverse direction and a like amount.

Iii witness that I claim the foregoing I,

have hereunto subscribed my name this 24th day of March 1915.

JOHN F. OCONNOR. Witnesses:

CARRIE C. RANZ. GEORGIE VIGKERY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing thevCommssioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

